This invention relates to, but is not limited to, the mountaineering art and more specifically to a fall arresting device for solo climbers.
When two climbers ascend steep, dangerous terrain, a rope is employed to safeguard against a fall. Typically, one climber remains stationary, securely anchored to the mountain. The other climber is tied to a rope which is held by the anchored climber in such a manner that it may be fed out as the other climber ascends, yet held fast should the climber fall. In this way, potentially long falls are limited by the length of rope between the climbers. This two person technique allows a climber to concentrate fully on the task of climbing and frees him from the limitation of also having to deploy his own safety rope.
The same technique is often used by workers in various fields when a worker must venture into an area where there is risk of a dangerous fall.
When climbing alone, or solo, a climber must perform the task of two people since in addition to pulling himself up the mountain, he must also deploy his own safety rope. The most commonly used method is to anchor one end of the rope to the mountain and secure the climber to the same rope so that there is slack in the rope between the anchor and the climber. The climber may then move away from the anchor until the rope comes tight. In order to continue climbing, he must reattach himself to the rope so that there is once again slack between himself and the anchor. This technique has the disadvantage of requiring excessive slack in the rope between the anchor and the climber, which increases the distance the climber could fall. Also, in order to change his point of attachment to the rope, the climber must have at least one hand free. When climbing difficult terrain, this requirement is inconvenient if not impossible to meet.
The prior art also shows a mechanical device capable of sliding freely along a rope as the climber ascends, yet which locks securely to the rope if the climber should fall. The device must be attached to the climber in a fixed position relative to his body. Typically, a climber will ascend with the rope trailing below him. After a fall, the rope supports the climber from above. The device relies upon this change in direction of the rope to arrest the fall. A serious disadvantage of the device is that if the climber should flip upside down during the fall, or get his rope caught under his leg, the direction of pull of the rope on the device will not change, and the device will fail to arrest the climber's fall. In addition, the device requires the climber to wear a chest harness in addition to a standard sit harness in order to keep the device in a fixed position relative to the climber's body. Chest harnesses are generally disliked by climbers since they often restrict body movement and breathing.
Most solo climbers, therefore, would find it advantageous to have a fall arresting device which attaches to a common harness system, slides freely along a rope as the climber moves and reliably arrests a fall regardless of the climber's body position during the fall.